Tag Archives: Marine Stewardship Council

On Thursday, a coalition of environmental groups accused the world’s largest certification agency for sustainably sourced seafood of “allowing fisheries with widely unacceptable impacts to be certified.” The coalition, which included Greenpeace and the Environmental Justice Foundation, said that the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) urgently needs to improve its Fisheries Standard, a document that specifies which fisheries may be deemed sustainable,,, >click here to read< 09:22

Shetlands inshore shellfish industry and local marine scientists have strongly condemned what they describe as a “series of false allegations” from a conservation organisation about the sustainability of king scallops from the islands. The Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO) and NAFC Marine Centre has accused campaign group Open Seas of a “smear campaign” after it called for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) not to renew its accreditation of scallops. click here to read the story 10:23

P.E.I. lobster fishermen will have to prove they’re using less mackerel for bait if they’re going to keep their eco-friendly certification. The Island lobster fishery achieved Marine Stewardship Council certification in November 2014. Yearly audits are done to make sure the fishery continues to be ecologically sustainable, while the council encourages consumers to purchase sustainably-caught fish with special branding — a little blue logo incorporating a check mark and a fish. To keep that certification, MSC auditors have asked the fishery to meet five conditions — two of which involve reducing the use of mackerel for bait. Read the rest here 12:06

Imagine if you’re sick or injured and your doctor gives you the ‘all clear’ while still developing your treatment plan. You’d get a new doctor, right? Well, the latest tuna fishery recommended for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification could be given the blue fish tick based on the same faulty logic. There are plans being developed to improve the fishery, but, so far, little evidence of action or results. The certification covers five purse seine vessels currently fishing for skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye tuna in the Indian Ocean,,, Read the rest here 16:04

Seattle-based pollock producers say the sinking of a Russian trawler with dozens of fatalities earlier this month raises disturbing questions about a Sea of Okhotsk fishery that has a sustainable fishing certification through the Marine Stewardship Council. Russian criminal investigators are looking into allegations that the ship, called Dalny Vostok, had numerous safety violations and went to sea with illegal crew from Myanmar who lacked work permits. It sank April 1, leaving 65 dead and 12 missing among its crew of 132, according to reports,,, Read the rest here 10:35

Geoff Irvine had one nugget of advice for the culinary students he addressed this week. “Learn Mandarin,” the executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada told the aspiring chefs, providing a clue as to where he thinks the lobster market is heading. For now, though, Irvine’s attention is on two issues: environmental certification for the industry, and finalizing a levy on lobster catches. Read the rest here 11:49

Most of you have heard about the Russian prohibition on the importation of seafood products from the United States, the EU, Canada and others. This is a big deal, with a lot of unknown consequences, and will have a significant impact on the US seafood industry. A year ago, the Marine Stewardship Council,aself-charged ENGO with championing sustainable commercial fisheries, gave its stamp of approval to the Russian pollock fishery as sustainable. Read the rest here 21:05

Trouble seems to follow the Chilean sea bass, a prehistoric-looking, toothy beast that lives in the chilly waters off the coast of Antarctica and nearby countries.,, nearly a quarter of fish given the stamp of approval from the Marine Stewardship Council, a leading authority on seafood sustainability, did not originate from their designated fisheries, Read more here 19:55

After the United States established a 200-mile exclusive fishing zone in 1977, the groundfish fleet grew rapidly, helped by the government. Warnings from scientists that the fishery was being depleted went unheeded until 2000, when the 20-year catch average dropped from 74,000 tons to 36,000 tons and the federal government declared an economic disaster. Read more here 06:48

The Oregon Trawl Commission learned this week the Oregon pink shrimp it catches will again received certification from the Marine Stewardship Council. The group was the first to receive the Commission’s certification in 2007. Ten other fisheries have since earned the honor. Read more MSC propaganda here 19:59

ST. JOHN’S, NL–(Marketwired – March 13, 2014) – Newfoundland’s only commercial cod fishery is back on the map following an announcement that it has entered full assessment against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard, the world’s best for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. Read more here 11:58

The State of Alaska announced today that it has reached an agreement with Walmart, and the retailer will continue to sell Alaska seafood.Walmart has agreed to change its sourcing policies to allow multiple certification programs, as long as they meet principles set by The Sustainability Consortium, or TSC. As a result, the retailer will sell Alaska seafood without a Marine Stewardship Council, or MSC, certification.Read [email protected] 19:46

In addition to showing that Alaska remains the premium name in sustainable seafood, the poll found that that there is equal if not more consumer comfort with the UN FAO-based RFM certification program over MSC, whose policy of conditional certification of unsustainable fisheries was met with widespread disapproval. Read [email protected] 15:22

Despite recent re-certification of Alaska salmon to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards for the third time, Alaska Senators are begging large US grocery chains to stop using the MSC standard as a basis of their purchasing policies. Why has the MSC honeymoon ended for Alaska salmon? Read [email protected] 14:55

Walmart has been in the headlines in recent weeks after the retailer announced plans to keep its stores open this Thanksgiving, forcing Walmart employees to cancel many of their holiday plans. Walmart, the country’s largest retailer and employer, makes more than $17 billion in profits annually, so it has a lot of money to dump into “environmental” groups that serve its agenda of privatization of the public trust. The wealth of the Walton family totals over $144.7 billion – equal to that of 42% of Americans. must read [email protected] 17:22

In a recent letter (attached) from a GSA Assistant Commissioner, the official writes to Senator Murkowski that the agency agrees, and that “American managed fisheries do not require third-party certification to demonstrate responsible and sustainable practices.” [email protected] 13:40

The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association is aiming to get Island lobster certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. MSC is an international body that evaluates whether fisheries are sustainable, from the water right through processing. The PEIFA says it has signed a contract to begin the final phase of assessment, along with the Seafood Processors Association of P.E.I. and First Nations groups. [email protected]

One of the world’s largest foods contractors is the latest to snub Alaska salmon over an eco-label – in this case, fish that’s targeted to the US troops. The company Sodexo, home based in France, has an eight year contract to provide food services to US military mess halls. The Fortune 500 company’s policy is to only serve seafood certified by the London-based Marine Stewardship Council [email protected] 18:11

“It’s ridiculous and insulting that the seafood being offered to our troops might come from Russia,” said Begich. “Alaska wrote the book on sustainable fisheries and we don’t need outsiders to tell us how to manage our stocks.” [email protected] Fish Radio 06:19

U.S. Senator Mark Begich is objecting to a decision by a large food contractor to only serve seafood certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. Alaska’s commercially caught salmon currently lack that certification. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the story. listen @kdlg

Prices are down a bit, but demand remains strong, as harvesters of Alaska’s deadliest catch, albeit multi-million dollar crab fishery await stock survey results that will determine quotas for the 2013-2014 fishery….Schraeder notes that company policy requires that all wild seafood suppliers be third-party certified as sustainable using Marine Stewardship Council, Best Aquaculture Practices or equivalent standards. But crab processors doing business in Alaska have chosen to not use the MSC certification program. [email protected]

(Saving Seafood) August 1, 2013 — When the National Park Service (NPS) announced it would utilize third party seafood ratings and certification programs to set guidelines for vendors offering seafood options within U.S. National Parks, the agency revived a debate surrounding the eco-certification of U.S. seafood. Tomorrow, NPS is meeting with NOAA in an attempt to reconcile concerns and ensure that its new sustainable seafood guidelines aren’t detrimental to fishermen, processors, and consumers alike. continued here

Last month the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service (NPS) announced that it was now requiring that vendors at all of the food service establishments in its parks, monuments, etc. serve seafood that is certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council or identified as “green” or “yellow” in reports prepared by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Read the Seafood Coalition notice

An open letter to John Sackton, Editor of Seafood.com By Bertrand Charron, Editor of SeafoodIntelligence.com, Dear John, I believe it is high time – since my first ‘Dear John’ editorial of February 2012– for a ‘Dear John 2.0’, as two of your well-articulated video comments during the past week do warrant praises and rebuttals of sorts [email protected] Lots of links, lots of information here. A lot to think about.

The certification of seafood as “sustainable” by the nonprofit Marine Stewardship Council is too lenient and discretionary, a study by a consortium of researchers has found. “When consumers want sustainable fish there are two options to meet the demand: fisheries can become more sustainable or the definition of sustainable can be watered down to be practically meaningless — with MSC seafood, the definition has been repeatedly watered down,” continued

Huffpo green – I buy fish with the Marine Stewardship Council label of “sustainably fished” approval. Every environmental handbook urges eco-conscious consumers to do so. But, turns out the label is not a green light signaling ‘go’ for the recovery of over-fished species, and guilt-free brain-enhancing omega-3 dining for my family. It’s green-washing. The MSC has good intentions, but has bestowed its coveted label on fisheries at the very edge of collapse. continued

The regional lobster fishery is moving toward sustainable certification, but it is taking time, says the Lobster Council of Canada’s executive director. “It’s complex,” Geoff Irvine said Thursday in an interview. continue

The Maine lobster fishery has outpaced almost all of its counterparts in Atlantic Canada when it comes to a new certification for sustainable catches, says the executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada. continue

NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?

While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here

The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and their “strategy-consulting arm” CLF Ventures apparently have become fisheries Policy Makers, Litigators, Fishing Quota Fund Administrators, and the authors of a Read More »